Football: Bulawayo’s golden goose

Cont Mhlanga
IT is worth celebrating that ZIFA has endorsed Barbourfields, Emagumeni kaMaji, as the hunting ground for the national team Warriors, effectively bringing international football to the city of Bulawayo. I will take this opportunity to make a special mention of Ian Gorowa for making that request to his employers. I am aware that while Gorowa was solving a football problem, he was very aware that he was making a very crucial decision of bringing some national economy to the city of Bulawayo.

He has made his bold contribution to the revival of the city of Bulawayo and as citizens we should extend our gratitude to him.

It is not my intention to spell out how international football matches will contribute to the city’s economy as I am sure our city economists can do that better, so I will stick to the social responsibility concerns of the decision, a matter I want to dwell on.

Bulawayo is the centre of national education and culture. It is the country’s leading academic and cultural centre. Our universities and colleges are packed with students and scholars from across the country than you can find in any other city. They learn, practise and grow from here then go out to work and do business across the country and world.

Hundreds of thousands have over the years come to live in this city for this reason and have gone out to the world to become influential personalities and leaders. It is my hope that such people will learn and be inspired by Gorowa’s decision and know that they too are able to influence similar decisions within their sphere of operations. Umfula ugcwaliswa yizifudlana (a river is flooded by tributaries), so we say in this part of the world.

Thousands of people who were groomed or grew up in Bulawayo drive the streets of the financial capital of the country, Harare, today and never think of taking decisions that will give back to the city. Others even drive through the financial capital of Africa — Gauteng Province of South Africa.

In fact a majority of them become Satanists who make decisions that take economic opportunity away from the city of Bulawayo, a city that gave them education and a sweet young life. They will not even bring a national workshop, conference or seminar to the city of Bulawayo — even if it is within their decision and means to do so or influence such.

Gorowa and ZIFA have done their part in the revival of the city of Bulawayo. It now remains for the football-loving citizens of the city of Bulawayo to turn every match into an electric international football party.

Bulawayo is a cosmopolitan city. It is in fact the capital city of the SADC region by population mix while Gaborone is the capital of SADC by administration. Bulawayo is a leader in Pan-Africanism and what remains is for us to celebrate it.

Cultural diversity is a wonderful heritage resource that can be harnessed for economic development of a city in many ways. Bulawayo has the best of this heritage and diversity and it still remains under-exploited for the city’s economic benefits.

The visiting countries should be supported by their local countrymen and women who live in Bulawayo to a point that they feel that they are at home when they play the game in Bulawayo than elsewhere in the country. This will encourage their home supporters to want to come and join the football party each time their country heads for the city of Bulawayo.

For the citizens of Bulawayo, this must not be about goals or the national team winning — though it would add to the excitement of the football party if it wins — but it should be about the football event itself taking place eMagumeni koNtuthu. Imagine when Malawi or Zambia land eMagumeni, and are supported by our local Malawians and Zambians!

What a party!

Remember that the level of cultural diversity and tolerance to make that possible can only be found in Bulawayo in the whole of Africa.

Local football teams from all leagues should create social and community mobilisation programmes and activities to make this even more exciting. They should mobilise their supporters and divide them accordingly to support both Zimbabwe and the visiting country.

The citizens and our local football fans should make it every soccer player, coach, technical and administrator’s dream across the continent to play at eMagumeni koBulawayo.

Local companies such as hotels, transporters, bars, restaurants and so forth who stand to benefit from the influx of soccer visitors into the city must create and lead partnerships with artists and cultural players to create a unique football fiesta each time an international team is in the city for a game.

The local mass media and photographers should go to town with these games. Football is big business.

This is how our thousands of football lovers out there can contribute to the economic turnaround of the fortunes of this city by participating and creating a joyous event each time an international game arrives eMagumeni. The motto should be ‘koBulawayo ubunandi siyazenzela’.

No amount of doing nothing will help our city. Neither will complaining, blaming, cursing, crying and then staying away from participating ever change anything. One is better off quiet and participating than having a loud mouth and not participating.

Only you, the people of this city, can receive the ZIFA decision with a boldness that can turn it into a commercial success for the city of Bulawayo, by turning it into a unique international football festival each time visitors land at the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Airport to the time they depart. It is up to us now to succeed.

Ian Gorowa has delivered sports tourism in a platter to the city of Bulawayo and we all know that tourism is a critical economic driver for any country, ours included, and the good part of it is that it is listed in Zim Asset.

It was not far back around the time of the 2010 World Cup craze in South Africa when the children who were educated by this city — a majority of them who are children of beautiful queens of this city and others who are married to the beautiful queens of this city — turned Satanists and decided to put the artificial turf at Rufaro sidelining BF.

Citizens complained bitterly with this form of continued marginalisation in all facets of development. Little did we know that the chaps in Harare, a few years down the road, would fail to maintain the artificial turf creating a golden opportunity for the city of Bulawayo.

We then should keep it in our dialogue that our failure as citizens and football fans to grab this opportunity will also be an opportunity for other cities.

Well we oKhulu say “kusinwa kudedelwana njalo indla muva yinkosi”. It’s now time for you zintombi nezi nsizwa zakoBulawayo to go out and do your thing! Shayani isgubhu eMagumeni kaMaji kuzamazame umhlaba wonke. Siyanivumela.”

All you need to do Bulawayo Omhle is to become a great international soccer audience and money from across the continent will sort itself out and find its way to the city of Bulawayo. To Ian, thank you mfanekhaya.